Sunday, March 12, 2017

For the period between April 2016 and January 2017, 61.79 million transactions took place on e-commerce websites using RuPay cards. The value of these transactions stood at Rs 4,139 crore. Meanwhile, RuPay card usage at POS terminals for the time period stood at 139.26 million transactions and the value of these stood was Rs 21,227 crore.

Predictably, RuPay card usage at e-commerce sites and POS machines shot up during demonetization period. In December 2016, RuPay saw 11.97 million transactions at online sites with a value of Rs 1,095 crore. POS machine transactions with RuPay cards stood at 47.27 million with the value of the transactions at Rs 7,005 crore.

To give context, for the full financial year 2015-16, e-commerce transactions on the card network stood at 10.24 million transactions with a value of Rs 576 crore.

Note that despite accounting for more than 40% of debit cards issued in the country, RuPay’s usage at online sites and POS machines is low. That can be attributed to the fact that a majority of debit cards issued were from the Jan Dhan Yojana financial inclusion programme.

From MediaNama’s interview with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) CEO and MD in may 2016:

“On POS and e-commerce, we have not grown our share significantly. The market share for them is still bout 5-6% because the bulk of our cards are Jan Dhan Yojana cards. The mainstream cards are about 85 million and the Jan Dhan cards are about 180 million. And most of the e-commerce and POS transactions are from mainstream cards.”

However, it is worth noting that the average ticket size of transactions of RuPay cards at ATMs and POS terminals is comparable to the ticket sizes of all debit cards issued. From an April 2016 report from JM Financial, at ATMs, RuPay’s transaction size was Rs 3,045 while at POS terminals, the ticket size was Rs 1,700. For all debit cards, the corresponding figures stood at Rs 3,092 and Rs 1,700.

Bharat QR

Last month, Visa, MasterCard, RuPay and American Express launched the BharatQR an inter-operable QR code payment system for card networks and banks. Around the same time, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) proposed new slabs for debit card merchant discount rate (MDR) banks will be allowed to charge merchants. It proposed differentiated MDR between acquiring infrastructure involving physical terminals (POS machines, mPOS etc) and digital acceptance infrastructure models (such as QR codes). QR codes payment through cards would attract a fee of 0.3% to 0.85% for merchants. MDR is an inter-bank exchange fee that banks charge for enabling digital transactions. It remains to be seen if BharatQR will increase the usage of debit cards.

Sunday, February 26, 2017

Declaring digital payments will help fight corruption and proliferation of black money, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said each citizen should teach 125 persons how to use the Bharat Interface for Money(BHIM) digital payment app.

"Remembering Babasaheb Ambedkar, you teach at least 125 persons about downloading the BHIM app," Modi said in his monthly 'Mann Ki Baat' radio broadcast.

To encourage digital payments after the November demonetisation of high-value currency notes, the government has recently launched the Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) mobile app.

IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said earlier this month that the BHIM app had already crossed 140 lakh registrations.

"Lucky Grahak Yojana will complete 100 days on April 14, the birth anniversary of Babasaheb Ambedkar," the Prime Minister said.

Following the ban on Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes, the government launched the Lucky Grahak Yojna (LGY) for consumers and Digi-Dhan Vyapar Yojana (DVY) for merchants to incentivise them and promote digital payments. The schemes will remain open until April 14.

There are 15,000 daily winners qualifying for total prize money of Rs 1.5 crore, as per the schemes. In addition to this, there are over 14,000 weekly winners qualifying for total prize money of over Rs 8.3 crore every week.

Customers and merchants who use RuPay Card, BHIM/UPI, USSD based *99# service and Aadhaar Enabled Payment Service are eligible for wining daily and weekly lucky draw prizes.

The government has given away over Rs 153.5 crore reward money to nearly 10 lakh citizens under these schemes, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said earlier this week.

"It is a delight to learn that till now, under the Digi-Dhan Yojana, 10 lakh people have been rewarded, over 50,000 traders have won prizes and an amount of almost over a 150 crore rupees has been earned as prize money by people who have promoted and carried forward this great campaign," Modi said.

Sunday, January 22, 2017

Banks in the country have issued nearly 60 per cent more RuPay cards for Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY) account-holders in the two months following demonetisation of ₹500 and ₹1,000 currency notes on November 8 than they had issued a year prior to that.

Banks had added around 2.83 crore new RuPay cards from November 25, 2015, to November 9, 2016. Compared to this, in just two months following demonetisation, nearly 1.56 crore RuPay cards were issued.

The number of RuPay cards increased to 19.43 crore by November 9, 2016 from 16.6 crore as on November 25, 2015.

Of the 26.68 crore PMJDY account-holders, nearly 21 crore (78.71 per cent) had RuPay cards by January 11.

RuPay card is an initiative by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to allow all Indian banks and financial institutions to participate in electronic payments.

Aadhaar seeding

In spite of the Prime Minister’s endorsement of JAM (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and mobile) vision on several forums, the seeding of Aadhaar numbers with PMJDY accounts remained at 42 per cent of the total PMJDY accounts in November 2015. Of the 19.34 crore accounts, only around 8.19 crore were seeded with Aadhaar numbers as on November 25 2015.

The Prime Minister had stated that the JAM vision would serve as the bedrock of many initiatives to come.

Aadhaar seeding with bank accounts crossed the 50 per cent mark only in August 2016.

In the one year to November 2016, banks seeded 5.49 crore more accounts with Aadhaar numbers.

Of the 25.51 crore PMJDY accounts, around 13.68 crore were seeded with Aadhaar by November 9, 2016. During the post-demonetisation period between November 9, 2016, and January 11, 2017, banks seeded 1.67 crore more accounts with Aadhaar numbers.

Of the 26.68 crore PMJDY account-holders, nearly 15.36 crore (57.58 per cent) were seeded with Aadhaar numbers by January 11.

Friday, December 30, 2016

In what will be a busy year of state elections, economists are slashing India's growth forecasts because Prime Minister Narendra Modi's unprecedented cash clampdown is denting demand. The experiment has missed its first marker of success and the almost-daily regulatory flip flops are enraging citizens.

Yet, analysts point to the fact that India hasn't seen bloody riots of the kind witnessed in Venezuela, which followed PM Modi in banning higher-value banknotes before it reversed the move. Perhaps most importantly, a fractured opposition hasn't been able to capitalize on the social pain triggered by the world's most sweeping currency policy change in decades.

"So far there has been no successful mobilization of public opinion against demonetization," said Sanjaya Baru, New Delhi-based director at the International Institute of Strategic Studies and media adviser to Narendra Modi's predecessor, who's written books analyzing former administrations. "Though we can't say what's going to happen in the future, at least so far it would seem like Modi is on top."

The move tests PM Modi's reputation as the master of the message. He has touted the cash ban as India's strongest step against tax evasion and graft in a nation where rising economic inequality helped him sweep to power with the biggest electoral mandate in 30 years.

PM Narendra Modi on Nov. 8 banned 500 and 1,000 rupee notes, removing 86 percent of currency in circulation. With TVs beaming pictures of serpentine queues spilling out of banks and newspapers carrying stories of rural distress, he pleaded with Indians to give him until Dec. 30 to ease the strife.

Here's the impact: India's economy is projected to grow 6.5 percent October-December instead of the 7.8 percent economists had predicted earlier. Moody's Investors Service says asset quality at Indian banks -- reeling under a pile of bad loans -- will weaken. Small businesses, the biggest creators of jobs, are estimated to forfeit transactions worth $9 billion.

International observers such as former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers and former World Bank Chief Economist Kaushik Basu have criticized Modi's move.

"Even if consumption revives quickly on the back of remonetization, investment could remain muted for longer," said Pranjul Bhandari, Mumbai-based economist at HSBC Holdings Plc. "The output gap, that is the slack in the economy, will likely remain negative for two quarters longer than we had initially estimated, making it unattractive for investors."

Medium as Message

And while the potential impact on state polls due in 2017 is not yet clear, the subdued outlook hasn't dented the performance of Narendra Modi's party in municipal elections over the past month.

One reason could be his ability to channel his message via social media, as President-elect Donald Trump does, allowing Narendra Modi to speak directly to the public without any media filter.

"This shows the importance people attach to good governance," PM Modi tweeted on Dec. 20 of the election results.

He, however, hasn't held a single national press conference since taking office and interviews are vetted. Instead, Narendra Modi relies on public speeches and has used the medium more than 10 times since Nov. 8 to defend demonetization.

Narendra Modi's speeches brim with rhetorical flourish and his bold cash clampdown became important part of his narrative as he approached the half way mark in his term early November.

"Modi presented himself as someone with fire in the belly, willing to change things in the country," said Ullekh NP, author of War Room: The People, Tactics and Technology Behind Narendra Modi's 2014 Win. "People at least for now believe his message; that he's incorruptible, that he has no family, that he's focused on the nation. But unlike an election campaign, where promises suffice, here there's prolonged hardship for people."

Support for Narendra Modi will waver if opposition parties form alliances in Uttar Pradesh, Ullekh said by phone from the key electoral state.

Shifting Goalposts

Narendra Modi's skill in rebranding has allowed him to recast his message even as massive deposits of old notes being turned in at banks robbed him of his main reason for the demonetization.

Indians have deposited 13 trillion rupees of the 15.4 trillion rupees invalidated by Narendra Modi's move, undermining the government's estimate that about 5 trillion rupees of this was unaccounted money and wouldn't reach banks.

"It seems very likely that the original aim of the demonetization drive -- forcing illicit wealth holders to come to light -- has already very nearly failed," said Vaninder Singh, an analyst at NatWest Markets, adding that this has pushed the government to change its commentary to fostering a cashless economy. "At what level of economic pain will we see an inflection in Modi's ratings? The answer depends upon how 'patriotic sacrifice' interacts with economic pain."

Political rivals allege that the shifting goalposts indicate Narendra Modi's Nov. 8 decision was never intended to target black money. Leaders from the main opposition Indian National Congress party said they'll have to hold smaller rallies in Uttar Pradesh due to the cash clampdown. The state's Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, from the Samajwadi Party, said he's sure to win because the lines of harassed citizens queuing up at cash machines will now shift to vote for him at polling booths.

Faith and Fear

Uttar Pradesh is due to vote by mid-May. It is India's most populous state and the biggest contributor to farm output. Elections will be held before that in four other states, including Punjab, called the 'bread basket of India.'

"Farmers are hurting," said Ajay Vir Jakhar, chairman of lobby group Farmers' Forum and grandson, son, and brother of Congress politicians. "Demonetization will have limited impact politically because opposition isn't able to take advantage of the pain."

Investors will focus on the government's first growth forecast for the year through March -- due Jan. 7 -- to assess the economic impact. Meanwhile, tax officials are raiding homes and offices across the country in a China-style crackdown on corruption, seizing bundles of currency notes and stashes of gold and jewelry.

Narendra Modi should follow his cash ban by lowering corporate and income tax rates in the budget -- likely Feb. 1 -- to encourage compliance, said analysts at Kotak Institutional Equities Ltd., adding that critics of his Nov. 8 decision are underestimating the "psychological" impact of the step.

The move "will reinforce the faith of the general population in the government's efforts to clean up the system and instill fear in a section of the society, which hitherto has had little regard for the laws of the land," they wrote in a Dec. 19 report. "Faith and fear."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has justified frequent amendments and U-turns in the implementation of government's demonetisation policy, saying one required to "stay a step ahead of the enemy+ ".

In an interview to India Today, Modi seemed to suggest that frequent changes in the implementation of the policy were deliberately done to corner those who were trying to defeat the purpose of demonetisation by circumventing it.

"Regarding the frequent modifications, one must be able to distinguish between niti (policy) and ran-niti (strategy) and not put them in the same basket. The decision of demonetisation, which reflects our niti, is unequivocally clear, unwavering and categorical. Our ran-niti, however, needed to be different, aptly summarised by the age-old saying of 'Tu daal-daal, main paatpaat'.

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To stay a step ahead of the enemy," Modi said. Modi hit out at his detractors, saying the decision to demonetise "is so huge that even our best economists remain confused in their calculations. India's 1.25 billion citizens, however, have welcomed it wholeheartedly and supported it even in the face of great personal difficulties+ , intuitively understanding its impact and importance."

He said demonetisation was done not for some short-term windfall gain, but for " a long-term structural transformation+ ". Attacking the Congress, the PM said he "pitied" its leadership for the "desperation" it had been exhibiting on this issue. "On the one hand, they say took this decision for political dividends, and on the other, they say the people have been troubled and are deeply unhappy. How can the two go together?" he said.Modi was scathing in his attack on his predecessor, Manmohan Singh, who had described the execution of demonetisation as 'monumental mismanagement' while speaking in Parliament. "It is interesting that the words 'monumental mismanagement' come from a leader who has been at the helm of India's economic journey for around 45 years - from being the chief economic advisor to the DEA secretary, RBI governor, Planning Commissiondeputy chairman, finance minister and Prime Minister — all the while during which large sections of our society have continued to live in poverty and deprivation," Modi said.

Friday, December 23, 2016

After announcing his much-debated decision to demonetise Rs 500 and 1000, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been pitching for a cashless economy. To achieve that, the country needs to have a sound banking infrastructure and a strong digital penetration. But a report suggested that PM Modi’s home state Gujarat is lacking at that front. According to a State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) report released Monday, about 56 per cent of the RuPay Cards issued to bank account holders in the state under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana were found to be “inactive”. “After the withdrawal of legal tender character of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 from November 9, 2016, and various measures initiated by the government to give thrust to cashless and digital economy, the RuPay card distribution and activation has assumed a very high importance,” stated the report that was released after bankers in Gujarat met for the first time after demonetisation, The Indian Express report said.

There are over 90 lakh Jan Dhan accounts in Gujarat. Of these, RuPay cards have been issued against 73.85 lakh accounts. However, the number of people using RuPay Cards linked to these Jan Dhan accounts is considerably low. “Of the 73.85 lakh RuPay cards issued, only 44 per cent or 32.63 lakh RuPay cards are active,” said Vikramaditya Singh Khichi, convener, SLBC, Gujarat. Citing Lack of financial literacy is seen as a major reason for such high volumes of inactive RuPay cards, the report pointed out that despite Gujarat having 49 Financial Literacy Centers (FLC), not one has been opened in rural areas. “Out of the 49 FLCs, one FLC is in metro, 33 are in semi-urban and 15 are in urban areas, whereas no FLC is opened in rural areas,” the report stated.

Besides, of the 5,860 bank mitras or business correspondents engaged by banks in places were bank branches are unavailable, around 1,000 bank mitras were found to be inactive. “After initiation of the demonetisation move, providing banking services to the rural masses through digital mode has become all the more important, therefore, banks are requested to immediately make necessary improvement in their business correspondent model,” stated the report.

Reserve Bank of India data for October 2016 showed the number of debit cards in the country stands at 94.2 crore. People used debit cards for transactions worth Rs 2.63 lakh crore in October but over 90 per cent of these were done at ATMs. Only 8 per cent utilised these cards at POS (Point of Sale) terminals to purchase goods and services. That means nine of ten cards are used solely for cash withdrawals at ATMs. Nearly 50 per cent of the total number of debit cards are being actively used but the utilisation rate for goods and services is much lower — around 6-8 per cent. This is despite the fact that there are 15.12 lakh POS terminals across the country as against a total of 2.20 lakh ATMs.

November 8th, 2016, would be marked as a historical day when high-denomination currency notes were demonetized by the Modi government in a bid to curb black money. Although the move drew both wide criticism and appreciation from different people, it accelerated the pace of non-cash payments in India, which is sure to give the use of plastic money a huge boost.

Interestingly, the current global payment card network industry is dominated by just a few players. Among these global players, Visa and MasterCard enjoy a dominant market share.

What is RuPay card?

RuPay is an Indian card scheme which was launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in March 2012 as an alternative to the MasterCard and Visa card schemes. Started as IndiaPay, it was later renamed as RuPay, which is a combination of rupee and payment.

RuPay also provides payment gateway services for online payments. It is accepted at almost all ATMs and most of the e-commerce websites (approx. 10,000). About 240 banks, including all major public sector banks, currently issue RuPay cards to their customers.

Need/Objective of RuPay cards

Banks while issuing Visa or Mastercard have to incur extra cost which is paid to these companies. A low-cost alternative suitable for the Indian banking channel was needed so that debit cards could have a reach in the rural banking system also.

To act as a vital tool in the financial inclusion drive by involving all economy classes in the banking system. Secure the data of Indian customers within the country as they do not have to share the information to international players like Visa or MasterCard. Reduce the usage of cash and to allow all the financial transaction to be a part of the economy

Around 30 crore cards have been issued since RuPay’s inception in 2012.

Out of total cards issued, the share in Jan Dhan account is around 18 crore

Average transaction size is INR 3,045 in ATMs

Waiver of various fees and charges makes it far cheaper option for the banks as compared to VISA and Mastercards.

How demonetization impacts RuPay cards

“The demonetization move has definitely given a great boost to the circulation of RuPay cards as more accounts are intended to be opened and due to shortage in currency notes, the transaction size as well as the number of transactions would also increase. It comes as an ideal opportunity to promote the usage of RuPay cards as a lot of cashless transactions are expected to happen,” says Nitin Vyakaranam, Founder & CEO, ArthaYantra.Even the dormant cards which were issued with bank accounts would be used.

Challenges

The real challenge is the penetration in the mainstream business as most of the cards were issued during the Jan Dhan schemes and most of these accounts have zero balances. Also, the transaction size is very low.

About a half of the population does not have a bank account despite the rollout of schemes like Jan Dhan Yojana and No-Frill accounts. The real difficulty lies in making the banking infrastructure strong and made available to the remotest places in India. “As per the World Bank data, there are 13 bank branches per 100,000 of adult population.

That makes it 7,692 customers per bank. But the distribution of these branches is uneven. With other products and services by RuPay like Kisan cards, Milk procurement cards and other services targeted at rural areas, the Indian banking system needs to reach every village to make the scheme a success and also help in empowering the economically-backward sections of the country,” says Vyakaranam.

Jan Dhan accounts, integral to the Modi government’s plan for financial inclusion and direct benefit transfer, were meant to have a transformational role in the uplift of the underprivileged, but, ironically, demonetisation has made them a parking lot for black money. Official sources told FE that these accounts saw transactions of R19,250 crore in the 10 days to November 19; over R15,000 crore was deposited and some R4,250 crore was withdrawn. As on November 8, the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that R500 and R1,000 banknotes would henceforth cease to be legal tender, Jan Dhan accounts held R45,637 crore, accumulated over two years and a month.

Deposits in these accounts, 25.5 crore at last count, rose by a third to around R61,000 crore between November 10 and 19, as people with hordes of unaccounted cash sought to convert them to legitimate wealth, according to data furnished by 27 public sector banks and 13 private banks. The account holders have either received rewards for allowing their accounts to be misused or been unaware of the third-party deposits made into their accounts.

According to a PTI report, Mamata Banerjee-ruled West Bengal leads the pack of states that has seen the highest deposits so far followed by Karnataka.

Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) in August 2014. As the government kept public sector banks on their toes, in just over a year, 19.72 crore accounts were opened and 16.8 crore RuPay cards were issued under the scheme, but it later turned out that a sizeable number of accounts remained zero-balance ones. Accounts with nil deposits were 77% of the total at the end of September 2014, but thanks to various government schemes and transfer of subsidies, only 24% of the accounts showed nil balance two years later.

As it became clear that Jan Dhan and other low-deposit accounts were misused by black money holders, the finance ministry last Friday warned that such attempts to convert unaccounted cash would attract “income tax and penalty”.

The ministry added that persons who allow his or her accounts to be misused could be prosecuted for abetment. Revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia had earlier said that if more than R10 lakh is deposited in an account between November 10 and December 30 without matching income declared, tax plus penalty of 200% of the tax would be levied as per Section 270 (A) of the Income Tax Act. While tax experts doubted the legal tenability of the move, Friday’s release by the ministry went a step further, as it did not specify any threshold trigger. The government had earlier announced that small deposits made in the banks by artisans, workers, housewives, etc, would not be questioned, up to an exemption limit of R2.5 lakh.

Sources added that the Finance Intelligence Unit was keeping tabs on bank officials who may be involved in the misuse of the Jan Dhan accounts. Since these accounts cannot hold more than R50,000 without know-your-customer compliance, the fresh deposits in them mostly tend to be slightly lower than that.

Jan Dhan accounts, along with Aadhaar seeding and mobile phones, form the Modi government’s “JAM” trinity for financial inclusion. Of the 25.5 crore Jan Dhan accounts, 13.69 crore are already Aadhaar-seeded while 19.44 crore RuPay cards have been issued.

A surge in net deposits in Jan Dhan accounts was seen immediately after the scrapping of high-denomination notes but the momentum slowed gradually: Net deposits peaked at R2,525 crore on November 13 but stood at R650 crore on November 19.

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Government is looking into sudden 'propping up' of money into zero-balance Jan Dhan accounts+ , after anunprecedented Rs 2 lakh crore of cash+ flooded the banking system within just two days of demonetisation of high value currency.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley said law enforcement agencies are keeping a hawk eye on illegal currency changers, offering to change the junked 500 and 1000 rupee notes, as well as those investing their money in gold and bullion+ to hide unaccounted wealth.

"We are getting some complaints that suddenly monies have propped up in the Jan Dhan accounts, so there is a misuse and that is why the rationing in initial days takes place," he said, adding that the departments concerned will act if anything improper is found in the deposits.

The government is focusing on ensuring that replacement of currency notes withdrawn, with new legal tender, takes place smoothly and quickly so that inconvenience to people is minimised, Jaitley said, adding "the Enforcement Directorate and revenue department are keeping a close watch".

Cautioning those indulging in illegal usage of the demonetised currency, he said authorities will not hesitate to take action against any unlawful activity.

His statement comes amid reports that the old high denomination notes had been used to buy gold or were being exchanged for a premium.

ED is scrutinising as many as 67 foreign exchange dealers and Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence is also monitoring prominent jeweller and bullion traders.

The finance minister said India as a country should move towards plastics currency and more and more use electronic modes for transactions.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India has got Rs 47,868 crore cash deposits during the last two-and-a-half days and since SBI accounts for about 25 per cent of the banking system, the total cash mobilised by all banks put together could be around Rs 2 lakh crore, said.

In a surprise move, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on the night of November 8 announced withdrawal of 500 and 1000 rupee notes but allowed people to deposit them in their bank accounts or exchange them with new Rs 2000 and Rs 500 notes till December 30.

To give comfort to honest taxpayers, it has said deposits of up to Rs 2.5 lakh in accounts of housewives and farmers will not be reported to Income Tax authorities.